Many articles need to be coated for protection from the environment. For example, metal surfaces may be protected by covering with a coating layer, thereby preventing chemical, oxidative or other attack of the surface. The technology for the application of such coatings is well known and includes application from solution, by the application of a paint, or application as a thin sheet or tape. In the application of such coatings in the form of sheet or tape, a separate adhesive layer is generally used to achieve adhesion of the sheet to the substrate and of overlapping layers of the sheet to each other. In commercial wrapping operations, such as pipe wrapping, it is normal practice to use a sheet carrying such an adhesive layer, and to stretch the sheet slightly, up to about 5%, to ensure that it is wrapped tightly around the pipe.
In electrical applications such as cable splices, a tape in the form of a strip of flexible material is stretched, and wrapped, usually spirally around an electrical cable. The overlapping layers tend to fuse to one another so that they can no longer be separated readily. Earlier such tapes were based on natural rubber, whereas later tapes which are described in the literature are based on combinations of synthetic polymers U.S. Pat. No. 2,569,541 issued to Harold E. Selby discloses such compositions containing polyethylene, butyl rubber, polyethylene and a tackifier resin and requires that the proportion of butyl rubber be below 25 percent, and a tackifier is required to produce a composition which seals readily. U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,992 issued to H. M. Bond et al discloses tape compositions containing specific proportions of butyl rubber, polyisobutylene, a chlorinated hydrocarbon resin and a high styrene copolymer of butadiene and styrene. Generally these materials when formed into a roll without a liner adhere together or fuse so that after a short period of time it is impossible to unwind them. To avoid this problem, self-adhering tapes have been provided with a removable liner between overlapping layers. Removal of the liner is time consuming and may be difficult when it becomes tightly adhered to the tape.